Why we think it’s a great listen: The best book club you’ve never heard of – but will be eager to join, courtesy of a full cast of true characters. January 1946: London is emerging from the shadow of the Second World War, and writer Juliet Ashton is looking for her next book subject. Who could imagine that she would find it in a letter from a man she's never met, a native of the island of Guernsey, who has come across her name written inside a book by Charles Lamb....

I have never been so unable to pull myself away from my iPod as with this novel. The characters are so real and charming and beautiful even the awful ones. It's every bit as good as all the other reviewers and critics say it is. I so wish that I had heeded the good publicity sooner.

The Big Tiny: A Built-It-Myself Memoir

A graceful, inspired memoir about building a home from scratch and discovering a true sense of self - in just eighty-four square feet - by Dee Williams, a pioneer in sustainable living and the proud owner of a very tiny house. Discovering the sustainability movement and building her own house was just the beginning of building a new life. Williams can now list everything she owns on one sheet of paper, her monthly bills amount to about eight dollars, and it takes her ten minutes to clean the entire house.

I sincerely appreciated the author's frankness, opening up in a very real way with her writing. I feel as though I have met her, spent time with her, and gotten to know her. There's a genuineness with a little grandiosity about sky viewings. I learned about what drove her to her tiny house life.

I think the narrator sounds like a truly kind person, but I don't like her voice. I wish I did. She works at her craft. She sounds like she really invests in her stories and narrations, but there's too much energy for me. It actually takes away from the reading for me.

What was the most interesting aspect of this story? The least interesting?

Her description helped me see that I'm not going to be comfortable with less than 400 sq ft living space. That was invaluable, and now I can drop my tiny plans and think small, just not tiny. The least interesting part was how the author goes on and on and on about the sky gazing, but then I might do so if I had a skylight over my bed.

On the Origin of Species

This scientific writing, which was considered to be the groundwork of evolutionary biology, presented the theory that species developed over a line of originations through a method of natural selection. It imparted evidence that the variety of life resulted from a common descent via a branching model of evolution.

What made the experience of listening to On the Origin of Species the most enjoyable?

It is thrilling to consider Darwin's conclusions about life, without the benefit of knowing about DNA, epigenetics, gene linkage, Mendelian genetics, and so on. He was right about so many things.

Who was your favorite character and why?

The pigeons! Just kidding.

How did the narrator detract from the book?

He mispronounced so many words that I am embarrassed for him. There are word substitutions that make the somewhat challenging Victorian prose impossible. That someone can get paid for such unprofessional is a disappointment.

Any additional comments?

Surely there is a better reading of this book out there? Wouldn't it be cool if the most famous biologists would do a recording? One chapter by E. O. Wilson, another by that really nice Darwin scholar/Englishman at Harvard, obviously Dawkins, James Watson...

BBC Radio Shakespeare: Much Ado About Nothing (Dramatized)

BBC Radio has a unique heritage when it comes to Shakespeare. Since 1923, when the newly formed company broadcast its first full-length play, generations of actors and producers have honed and perfected the craft of making Shakespeare to be heard.

The performance cuts out significant portions of the play. There are also several places where an actor changes a line or word order. It really takes away from the play. Also, Don John speaks too, too softly to even be heard. What's the point?

John Adams

McCullough's John Adams has the sweep and vitality of a great novel. This is history on a grand scale, an audiobook about politics, war, and social issues, but also about human nature, love, religious faith, virtue, ambition, friendship, and betrayal, and the far-reaching consequences of noble ideas. Above all, it is an enthralling, often surprising story of one of the most important and fascinating Americans who ever lived.

Would you try another book from David McCullough and/or Nelson Runger?

McCullough wrote an excellent narrative, combining letters and journal entries with the sequential events of the Adams' lives. Runger's voice was too folksy, and his depiction of Abigail turned an intelligent and interesting woman into a simplistic, sing-song whiney frump. It wasn't to my taste.

What was one of the most memorable moments of John Adams?

His love of literature, the philosophers and Shakespeare and his commitment to financial solvency.

How could the performance have been better?

When I hear a narrator read for different voices, I should be able to hear the character or person and forget the narrator. Simon Vance seems to excell at this. Runger, not so much.

Treasure Island

First published in 1883, Treasure Island remains one of Robert Louis Stevenson's best-known and best-loved works.

A classic coming of age adventure, featuring buried treasure, treacherous pirates, and the eponymous Long John Silver, Treasure Island tells the enthralling story of Jim Hawkins, a young cabin boy, who sets sail on an 18th century voyage in search of a pirate's buried gold.

BBC Radio Shakespeare: Macbeth (Dramatized)

BBC Radio has a unique heritage when it comes to Shakespeare. Since 1923, when the newly formed company broadcast its first full-length play, generations of actors and producers have honed and perfected the craft of making Shakespeare to be heard.

Most of the characters were portrayed the way I imagine; I particularly loved the playfulness of the witches (vs. a decrepit croniness). I didn't like the voice for Macbeth. Most disappointing to me is that, gosh, maybe 20%, or more, of the play is cut out. Too much. It's already a short(ish) play.

My favorite characters in this play are the witches - and the decision of the actors or directors to speak very, very slowly was probably intended to impart an ominous feel, but it felt more "hooked-on-phonics". The very, very slow speech very nearly ruined the play.
The role of Banquo was fulfilled very well by the actor. The other characters were adequate. In a few places the actors change the lines a bit (a few words only), which was disappointing. Overall, the reading is OK, not great.

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